Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown:
‘’FTSE 100 has found its mojo to notch up best winning streak since January 2017. The Trump trade shock has subsided and with tariffs on the back burner for now, optimism is pulsing through the markets, helped by a raft of corporate results surprising on the upside. The top gainers are a mixed bag, demonstrating how the new-found confidence is lifting multiple sectors. The Footsie surged in the last hour of trading, marking the 12th consecutive session of gains. Howdens Joinery ended top of the leaderboard after an encouraging update, showing reassuring sales momentum with the results buoying B&Q owner Kingfisher. Betting giant Entain surged more than 3% after net gaming revenues surpassed expectations. HSBC made strides after posting a resilient set of results for the first quarter, despite the economic headwinds, with underlying profit before tax up 11%. Defence contractor BAE Systems is heading back up to its record highs, with sentiment bouncing back amid expectations of continued demand for military capabilities. While some wariness about the future direction of US trade policy remains, for now investors are adopting a glass half full attitude, hopeful that the worst of the tariff fears won’t materialise. Eyes are on negotiations springing up between the US and its trade partners, even though both China and the US seem to be waiting for each other to take the initiative and commence talks. ‘’
